Black khuli loaches

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Ok so about a week ago i bought 4 black khuli loaches for my established 3ft tank(has been running for about 8months or so).
The tank has 4mollies(1male, 3female), 8platys(3male, 5female-2 are high fins), 4peppered corys, 5panda corys and one 7inch plec(unknown species, have been researching for a long time now). It has alot of planting/rocks/caves/ornements etc and the loaches have settled in seemingly very well.
From what i have gathered, khuli loaches are very shy fish and rarely come out so i am suprised to see that mine are very active and are not only about at night but also during the day amoungst the plants; the other fish don't even seem to have noticed the loaches.

I was just wondering wether this is normal behavior for black khuli loaches and a sign they have settled in well or perhaps a sign that things could be amis?
My water stats are good(ammonia=0, nitrates=2, nitrites=9).

 

[The-Wolf]

my black Khulie often swins in manic circles then rests then does it again.
it would seem this is perfectly normal from what I've read about them.
HTH

 

[Mr Miagi]

In my opinion, a black Kuhli shouldnt act any different than a normal kuhli really. They are just a colour morph.

 

[The-Wolf]

In my opinion, a black Kuhli shouldnt act any different than a normal kuhli really. They are just a colour morph.

no they are not they are a species in their own right

 

[Mr Miagi]

Really! Oh sh*t. Oops, i was dammed sure they were a colour morph. Ahwell, ill hunt through my books again.

 

[The-Wolf]

std khulie
Acanthophthalmus (Pangio) mysersi

black khulie
Pangio javanicus

silver khulie
Pangio muraeniformis
etc

edited to correct error

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Cheers for the info guys, these are the first khuli loaches i've ever had and from what i had heard i was expecting never to see them, so i was a bit suprised to see how active they are.
On a slightly different topic, can you breed black khuli loaches in captivity?

 

[Mr Miagi]

Thanks wolf!

Anyhow, yes, i do believe some ppl have bred them before, but i dont know how. Aparently the young are green?!?!

 

[Eelzor]

My water stats are good(ammonia=0, nitrates=2, nitrites=9).

I don't know if anyone noticed this but a tank shouldn't have any nitrites in it if it's housing fish.

Was the nitrites 9 and the nitrates 2? Or the other way around? Either way, there shouldn't be nitrites.

Just let me know on that on Tokis-Phoenix.

 

[Aylana]

Hi, I got 3 black khuli loaches 2 weeks ago and they are very active and great fun to watch. I too was expecting them to be very shy but they are spending more and more time out in the open. They are in a frenzy over a shelled pea at the moment! I love these guys, good luck with yours!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

My water stats are good(ammonia=0, nitrates=2, nitrites=9).

I don't know if anyone noticed this but a tank shouldn't have any nitrites in it if it's housing fish.

Was the nitrites 9 and the nitrates 2? Or the other way around? Either way, there shouldn't be nitrites.

Just let me know on that on Tokis-Phoenix.

It could have been the other way around but i have thrown away the results now, the test kit can be a bit hard to interperate at times. Ive done some water changes since last night; when i tested the water it had been about 10days since i had done a water change.
I thought that it was ok to have some nitrites in the tank; i go test it again soon but i need to get a new test kit.

On the subject of breeding black khuli loaches is there any way to tell the genders apart? i can't seem to find much info about them on the inet; are there any particular specifications they require for a good breeding enviroment?